Device for operating elevator-hatchway gates



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- O. P. STANFORD.

DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR HATGHWAY GATES.

Patented July 8,1890.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0. P. STANFORD. DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR HATOHWAY GATES.

No. 431,676. Patented Jul 8, 1890.-

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

O. P. STANFORD. DEVIGB'FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR HATGHWAY GATES. No.431,676.

Patented July 8, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

CHARLES P. STANFORD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR OPERATING ELEVA TOR- HATCHWAY GATES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,676, dated July 8.1890.

Application filed )ctobor 26, 1889. Serial No. 328,297. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES P. STANFORD, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State ofCalifornia,have invented an Improvement in Elevator-Hatches; and Ihereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in self opening and closinghatches for ele- Vators.

It consists in certain details of construct-ion, which will be morefully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure l is a perspective view of my elevator. Fig. 2 is an elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a' horizontal section.

A A are the vertical guides between which the diagonally-oppositecorner-posts B of the cage travel, and by which the cage is kept inplace.

C is a floor through which the cage must pass, having the hatches Dhinged at opposite sides. These doors are preferably made triangular inshape, the dividingline between them extending diagonallyfrom one of thecorner guide-posts to the other,wit-h a hole in the center of sufficientsize for the passage of the hoisting-rope. This form and arrangement ofthe doors enables me to close them closely and to avoid the guidingcorner-posts in their movement. These doors have hinge-shafts E suitablyjournaled in the opposite sides of the hatchway-opening, and upon theends of these shafts behind the guiding corner-posts are fixedprojecting lever or crank arms G. From these arms the rods H extendupward behind the guide-posts, and at the upper end have formed in orfixed to them horizontal loops or yokes I, which are adapted to travel'upon the vertical supplemental guides J, fixed to the rear of the mainguide-posts, so that the yokes may travel up and down upon thesupplemental guides a distance equal to the movement of the crank-armsG, as the hatch is opened and closed. Near the lower part of thissupplemental guide and in its inner edge is formed a groove or slot K,and upon the opposite or outer edge of the supplemental guide is thebeveled or inclined edge, terminating ina stop at L.

the supplemental guides.

Upon each of the vertical posts of the ele- .vator-cage,which travelupon guides, is fixed a projecting block M, in such a position that itwill engage the upper end of the rod H after the door has been fullyopened and the rod drawn down by its crank-arm G to its lowest position.This action forces the side of the loop into the groove or notch K onthe inner side of the supplemental guide, and this retains it in thatposition and prevents the door from moving or closing until after thecage has passed.

The operation will then be as follows: WVhen the cage is moving up, theupper por tion of it first touching the doors will lift them, openingthem in opposite directions, and as the cage passes between them theywill rise about their hinges until they stand in a vertical positionupon each side of the hatchway. At thesame time the crank-arms G Will beturned down, drawing the rods H with them, until the horizontal yokes orloops I at the upper ends of the rods stand opposite to the slots K uponthe inner edges of As the cage continues to rise, the doors areprevented from closing by the posts of the cage until the lower part ofthe cage has reached the upper angles of the doors, when just at thisinstant the projections M upon the sides of the guideposts of the cagewill strike the upper ends of therods H, thus forcing the loops I intothe notches K in the supplemental guides and retaining them there untilafter the cage has passed above the level of the doors. Just below thelugs M is a space into which the loops I are allowed to fall as soon asthe bottom of the lugs M have passed above the loops I, and below thisspace is a projection or arm N, which engages the loop as the cagecontinues to rise and lifts it, so that by pulling up on the rod H andthe crank-arms G the doors will be started in their closing movement bya positive action without the use of any supplemental springs orweight,.

and the closing is thus directly dependent upon the movement of thecage. As soon as this movement is commenced, the Weight of the doorsclosing toward thecenter presses the loops I upward against the bottomof the lug M, and it thus follows this lug upward as the cage risesuntil the doors are closed, the

crank-arms G, it turns the shafts upon which 7 the doors are hinged,thus opening the doors and raising them to a vertical position beforethe bottom of the cage reaches their upper ends. As soon as they areraised to this vertical position the loop Iwill have reached the grooveor notch K on the inner edge of the supplemental guide and willimmediately fall into it, and the lug M then passing temporarily 1closes the opening at the end, so that the loop cannot fall out untilafter the lug M has passed below the notch. After it has passed belowthe notch the loop drops out of the notch, the incline at the rear edgeof the guide allowing it sufficient movement for the purpose, and as thebottom of the cage is by this time within the upper angles of the opendoors the cage itself will keep the doors open until such time as it haspassed below the doors. NVhen the upper part of the cage has nearlyreached the level of the door-opening, pinsO, which project from theinner sides of the two opposite corner-posts, engage curved elastic armsP, fixed upon the lower sides of the doors, and, pressing upon them,tilt the upper angles of the doors inward, so that they commence closingby gravitation. Their lower surfaces resting upon the upper and curvedangles of the cage, they will gradually close as the cage passes downuntil the hatchway has been closed and covered again. By thisconstruction the movement of the hatches is made positive," the openingand closing being controlled by the movements of the cage. The cage maybe moved toa point just above the upper angles of the hatches, and thehatches commence to close. When the movement of the cage is reversed, soas to carry it down again, the doors will be again opened so as to allowit to pass.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The elevator-cage having its opposite corners guided between Verticalposts, the hatchway through which said cage is adapted to pass,triangular hatches hinged upon 0pposite sides of the hatchway andmeeting, when closed, upon a line which extends between the twocorner-guides, the crank-arms fixed upon the hinge-shaft of each of thedoors, the rods extending from said crankarm upwardly along the mainguide-posts and having horizontal yokes or loops at the upper ends,supplemental guides upon which said yokes travel, and notches in thesupplemental guides in which the yokes are forced by the passing cage,so as to prevent the doors from closing until the cage has passedbetween theirupper angles when descending, substantially as hereindescribed.

2. The cage traveling between guide-posts at opposite corners, thetriangular hatches hinged and opening, as shown, the crankarms fixed tothe hinged shafts of said hatches, the rods extending upwardly from saidcrankarms having horizontal loops or yokes at their outer ends, thesupplemental notched guides upon which the loops move with the motion ofthe crank-arms, and the projecting lugs upon the posts of the cageadapted to engage the loops and force them into the notches in thesupplemental guides while the cage is passing, substantially as hereindescribed.

3. The hatches, crank-shafts, connectingrods, loops, supplementalnotched guides, and the projecting lugs upon the elevator-cage operatingto lock the doors and prevent them from closing while the cage ispassing, in combination with the arms or hooks fixed to the cage belowsaid lugs and so as to engage the loops and give the doors an impulsetoward closing after the cage has passed up ward, substantially asherein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto's'et my hand.

CHARLES P. STANFORD.

WVitnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, II. 0. LEE.

